Is Tony Romo Undervalued in Fantasy Football?

Bashing Dallas Cowboys’ quarterback Tony Romo has become somewhat of a pastime for a lot of fake football and real football fans/players. Some of this criticism is warranted. A lot of it isn’t. If Romo was the quarterback of my fantasy team, I’d probably feel the same way Terrell Owens did back in the day…tears of frustration.

Yet, as far as fantasy football is concerned, there’s little not to like about Tony Romo, however disappointing he may be in big games and big moments in real life. When a player struggles in a real game, we, as loyal fantasy footballers, sometimes conjure a mirage of negativity for that player. This mirage has plagued Tony Romo for years in the fantasy football community. Being the quarterback of “America’s Team” won’t necessarily get you Christmas cards in the first place. He’s a perfect candidate to love to hate. Nevertheless, Romo’s mistakes have been overblown, the blame excessive, and the inimical treatment unjustifiable. It’s time to give Romo the long overdue credit he deserves, at least from a fantasy football perspective.

While being scorned, muttered at, and benched by fantasy football degenerates year after year, Romo has deceivingly and quietly made a nice career for himself as a fantasy football quarterback. In the five seasons Tony Romo has started at least 13 games for the Cowboys, his worst finish as far as points scored among quarterbacks was 10th in 2008. But get this; he missed three games that year because of a broken right pinky on his throwing hand. Had Romo played the three games he missed, he would have finished 5th in fantasy points among quarterbacks with his average score per game of that season calculated in. In 2007 Romo finished 2nd, behind only Tom Brady, in 2009 he finished 5th, in 2011 he finished 9th, and last year he finished 7th.

Even with the three missed games in 2008, Tony Romo was the sixth best fantasy quarterback in those five seasons. The 2010 season was not factored in as Romo only played in six games because of a broken collarbone. We have proof that Tony Romo is an elite fantasy quarterback when he plays a full season, even when he doesn’t play a full season. In the five aforementioned seasons he threw for over 4,000 yards in four of them and at least 26 touchdowns in all of them.

These findings are largely why I’m so high on Romo this year. As of now he’s my ninth ranked quarterback and I want to put him even higher. Our own Jody Smith, Fantasy Pros’ most accurate expert of 2012, has Romo ranked eighth among quarterbacks. So far, others don’t agree. According to fantasypros.com Romo is the 12th quarterback being taken in drafts. As some of the Gridiron Experts members know, this doesn’t sit well with me. Saying Tony Romo is being undervalued this year is an understatement. Aside from the fact that he has at least Top 6 fantasy quarterback potential, he’s undertaking one of the “easiest” schedules he’s ever had from a fantasy football perspective, at least based on last season’s numbers of fantasy points allowed against quarterbacks. With a healthy trio of Dez Bryant, Miles Austin, and Jason Witten, and a favorable schedule, Romo has everything he needs for another top 10 fantasy season.

As I said before, the mere fact that Tony Romo is the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys is enough to keep him off fantasy teams and is one of the building blocks of that mirage of negativity. If one really wants to win their fantasy league, though, real football fan-hood must be put aside for the sake of fake football glory.

Taking Romo where he’s currently being drafted, in the eighth or ninth round, will make you a happy camper, pitching your tent on the groundwork of a fantasy football championship team.

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Established in 2008

Gridiron Experts is a fantasy football advisory site that helps you win your league. Our team is made up of hardcore analysts that have been playing fantasy football for decades. With years worth of experience our staff loves to offer advice, tips and strategies to help you win dominate your league. You can learn more about our staff here.